Advertisement
Published: February 24th 2006
I had visited Laos 6 years ago, and really wanted to bring Jane to see this amazing land. From the moment you change up your 100 pounds travellers cheque (there are no cashpoints in Laos), and get given 1,800,000 kip in 20,000 kip notes (the largest denomination), 90 notes in all - you know that you are in for an adventure. Crossing into Laos from westernised Thailand, over the Mekong River and suddenly everything takes on a slower, more relaxed pace.
Our first stop was the capital Vientiane, hardly a metropolis with only 200,000 people living in the city. There's no McDonalds, no shopping centres and only 4,000km of paved roads in the whole country. Being a former French colony, there's plenty of baguettes, croissants, cheeses and wine - unusual for most of Asia. Luckily for us, Beer Lao is also readily available and at 40 pence a pint, it wins the 'cheapest beer of the honeymoon' award (so far).
It was wet on our first day in Vientiane, so we visited some of the wats (temples), the local (huge) market and Monument Anovsavari - more commonly known as 'The Vertical Runway', so called because an aid package from
the US consisting of concrete to build a new runway in the city, was 'diverted' up the river to complete this unfinished monument!
Next stop, Vang Vieng three hours North. Lovely limestone outcrops, caves and rivers. A great place to chill out watching the sunset down by the water whilst sipping on a beer Lao.
A long, bumpy, windy, seven hour bus trip North again, brings us to our next stop - Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site situated on the banks of the mighty Mekong. A couple of lazy days here soaking up the city's heritage and soaking up the herbs in the Red Cross steam bath after spending a WHOLE TWO POUNDS on a full body massage.
Getting back to the border crossing with Thailand at Ban Houei Xai means river travel as there is no road route. There is the option of 7 hours on a speedboat, but accidents have happened, particularly during the current dry season, when shallow waters and rocks are abundant. So, we go for the slow boat. The name - slow - has never been more apt. As we were going upstream, sometimes it felt like we were going
backwards when we were fighting against rapids!
It's two full days on the river, with a night stop in the small, unmemorable town of Pak Beng. Chugging upstream passing tiny Lao villages, fishermen, rice cargo boats, watching rural life by the water's edge with children playing and bathing, mothers washing clothes ... it is like going back in time. It's so enchanting that you forget about the hard wooden seat you've been on for the last ten hours and your numb bum!
Then we cross over to Thailand the other side of the river and suddenly you're transported back to the modern world.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0342s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Lena
non-member comment
wow
looks amazing I have to go to Laos now ! Love em blogs so keep em coming. Great to skype the other night - flowers arrived perfectly - thanks Jane :-)